


You're the Piano Man

by longlive97



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Music, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27805786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longlive97/pseuds/longlive97
Summary: Steve didn't know Tony had a piano.Tony didn't know Steve played the piano.Music just makes people fall even more in love.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	You're the Piano Man

Steve didn’t spend a lot of time in Tony’s penthouse. 

They spent a lot of time on the common floor, with the rest of the Avengers, in the workshop or on Steve's floor. Tony said that was because it felt more home-y than his own floor. So when it was just the two of them, they would go to Steve’s floor. They slept there and ate there, and Steve almost forgot that the penthouse existed. 

So when Steve asked Jarvis where Tony was, and Jarvis said the penthouse, Steve was surprised. 

“Sir is just gathering a few items from his bedroom; I am sure that he would not mind if you met him there,” Jarvis told Steve.

“Ok, that works. Thank you, Jarvis.” Steve stepped into the elevator and heard it whir to life.

“Of course, Captain Rogers.” 

Steve thought about what Tony could be grabbing. Most of his clothes have migrated into Steve’s bedroom, and most other things were always kept in the workshop. Steve’s pondering was cut short when the doors to the elevator opened.

As Steve wandered into the penthouse, he realized that he had never really looked around before. The few times he had been there, he had been… preoccupied or something of the sort. So he decided to take his time before making his way to Tony. 

The first thing he noticed was the modern design. It was all clean lines and metal; it looked like a museum. Steve saw no personal artifacts anywhere in the living room or hallways. It was quite the juxtaposition to Steve’s warm and full living room. He could understand why Tony wanted to spend his time on Steve’s floor.

The second, more surprising, thing Steve saw was a big object shoved in the corner, in front of the floor to ceiling windows. Steve walked over to it and pulled the cover back. 

In front of him sat a beautiful grand piano.

Steve ran his hand along the top of the piano, admiring the shine and quality of it. He went to lift the lid off of the keys and was happy to find that it wasn’t locked. He pressed down on middle C, listening to the resonances of the note. It sounded as if the piano had hardly been used, which doesn’t surprise him. Tony doesn’t strike him as the type to have enough time to sit down and break in a piano. 

Steve pulled the bench away from the keys and sat down. He sat his hand on top of the keys and hit foot over the pedal, and began to play. 

His fingers flowed over the keys like it hadn’t been years since he had played. The muscle memory was taking over and guiding his hands in a way that surprises him. The soft, muted melody flowed out of the piano, and he closed his eyes and let the music wash over him.

Before long, he stopped, realizing he doesn’t remember what comes next. It's been too long to remember it all. 

“I didn’t know that you played.” Steve startled at the voice coming from behind him,

Tony must have snuck in when he was playing, and Steve didn’t hear him. He was sitting on the couch in one of Steve’s sweaters, which was even oversized on him, and a pair of sweatpants. He looked so comfy, which stood out against the modern backdrop. 

“Yeah, uh, I learned on this beat-up old piano when I was a kid. I couldn’t do a lot because of the asthma, but I could play the piano. This is so much better than the one I had, though. It’s beautiful,” Steve tried to move on from the topic of his childhood. It wasn’t something that he likes to think about often. 

“Well, it is a top of the line Steinway piano.” Tony walked over and sat on the bench next to him.

“Do you play?” Steve questioned as Tony ran his hands over the keys.

“Nah, I could never get into it. My mom would always play for me as a kid; wanted me to be cultured and everything. I liked it when she would play for me, but I couldn’t be bothered to learn it myself. I don’t have the ear to really feel the music, as she liked to say.” Tony sounded a little lost in his memory as he spoke.

“Oh yeah? What did she play for you?”

Tony shot up and walked over to a semi-hidden bookcase. He pulled out a folder and walked back over to Steve. 

“This was my favourite piece that she played. Rue des Trois Frères by Fabrizio Paterlini. It was something that she played when my brain wouldn’t slow down.” Tony was holding the sheet music to the song.

“Let me see. I’m not the best at sight-reading, but I’ll see if I can get it.”

“Really? You don’t have to.” Tony looked somewhat shy, sharing this part of his past.

“I would love to.” Steve looked at Tony and smiled; he would do anything to make this man happy.

Tony didn’t say anything and just placed the sheet music down, spreading it out so that Steve was able to see all of it. Steve took a few moments to get himself oriented and looked it over. The music itself wasn’t too complicated, so Steve took a deep breath and began to play.

The melody was sweet and sad at the same time. Steve found himself getting lost in the music as he played. The timbre of the piano and ease of the harmony fit so well together that Steve felt transported. 

He could imagine a young Tony sitting at his mother’s side, just as he was sitting at Steve’s, feeling weary from the weight of the world. He could see young Tony taking comfort in this song that his mother played and letting himself forget where he was for a moment. Tony had said that he could never feel the music, but Steve was sure young Tony would feel the music played by his mother’s hands. Steve finds himself lost to that reality as the music continues through him.

The piece is only about two minutes long, and as it draws closer to the end, Steve is brought back to the world. 

When he plays the last chord written on the sheet music, Steve looks over at Tony. He finds Tony sitting quite still, eyes closed, with a small smile gracing his face and a single tear rolling down his cheek. They sit in silence for a few moments, neither one wanting to break the magic that has been created. However, after a while, Tony clears his throat. 

“Thank you,” is all that Tony says, voice steady but quiet. 

“Anytime, sweetheart.” Steve turned so that he was facing Tony.

Steve placed a finger under Tony’s chin and tilted his face up. He caught Tony’s eyes and tried to communicate how much he loved him before leaning in to kiss him. The kiss wasn’t heated or full of fire, just every ounce of unconditional love and support they had for each other. 

They drew each other in, twisting together like two polyphonic lines of music that form the most beautiful harmony when joined together. 

When Steve pulled away and was able to take a deep breath, he remembered why he had come to the penthouse in the first place. 

“So doll, what were you doing up here anyway?” Steve asked while a blush formed on Tony’s face. 

“Oh, um, right. Ok, don’t make fun of me, but…” Tony stuttered as he walked over the spot on the couch that he had vacated and grabbed a box that Steve hadn’t noticed. 

“I’ll try my very hardest.” Steve chuckled a little as he walked over to meet Tony.

“I’m sure you will,” and when Tony opened the box, Steve understands why tony had come up here to collect things.

Inside the box was a pair of what looked to be old birthday cards and other photos. It looked like some from Tony’s childhood and some more recent of the team. He can see that they all hold sentimental value, and Tony probably likes them close, in his home, and this floor is no longer his home. Home was with Steve. 

However, one photo did make him try his very hardest.

What caught Steve’s eye and made him want to laugh was a photo of Young Tony, dressed in a Captain America costume, looking happy as can be. Steve reached into the box and pulled it out and couldn’t contain himself.

“You look so cute, sweetheart.” Steve laughed, looking at the face of his disgruntled boyfriend. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I always looked cute. Come on, get it all out.”

“No, I’m serious; you look adorable. It’s like you knew we were destined to be together.” Steve watched Tony’s face soften as he spoke. 

“Maybe I did. I mean, maybe not the whole, dating-falling in love- mind blowing sex- thing.” 

“Tony-”

“But I guess I figured that the most amazing genius and the world's best captain had something in common. The universe couldn’t keep that awesome apart, know could it? That would go against the laws of everything good.” Tony had a joking tone to his voice, but Steve knew that words were sincere.

“A true crime against humanity.” Steve pulled Tony into a hug and felt him melt into it.

He felt, more than heard, Tony’s muffled whisper of I love you into his chest, and Steve kisses the crown of his head. 

“I love you too, sweetheart. So much even the universe knows it,” and then it was Tony’s turn to laugh. 

They continued just to hold each other for a while until Tony decided he had something else on his mind.

“Alright, enough of this sappy stuff. I want to see what else you can do, piano man.” Tony was pulling Steve back over to the piano, while Steve raised his eye at the nickname. “Right, you don’t know that song yet. We will put it on the list.” 

Tony pushed Steve down on the piano bench and sat down next to him once again.

“Any request?” Steve asked.

“Anything. Something that will make me continue to fall wildly in love with you.” Tony batted his eyelashes while Steve rolled his eyes.

“Let me see what I can do.”

And with that, Steve began to play.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thank you so much for reading and I really hoped you like it! This was inspired by that video of CEvans playing the piano and I needed some good quality content from it.
> 
> If you want to follow me on Tumblr, you can find me at 
> 
> tonymystarks.tumblr.com


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